254 M A U I. 



finished palace, I was ■ushered over a small causeway to a short 

 distance behind it, into his private apartments, and introduced to his 

 wife, who had been quite unwell. She is not acknowledged as queen. 

 She is the daughter of an inferior chief on the island of Hawaii, and 

 the prettiest woman on the island. The king, it is believed, married 

 her from affection, and against the wishes of his chiefs, after they had 

 prohibited his marriage with his sister Nahienaena, as has already 

 been mentioned. In order to prevent any dispute in the succession 

 to the throne, it was formerly deemed necessary that the king should 

 take all the women of the highest rank as his wives, and all the 

 children born of them were declared and considered as his heirs. 



The present king is said to be the natural son of Kamehameha I., 

 and became, from political causes, heir to the throne. 



After crossing the causeway we reached a small island : on this was 

 a grass-house of moderate dimensions, surrounded by hibiscus trees, 

 which grow quite low, and made a bower almost impervious to the 

 sun's rays. At the entrance of the house I was met by his majesty, 

 dressed in a roundabout of blue cloth, and white pantaloons. He 

 led the way into the bower, in the centre of which his wife was lying 

 in a clean white hammock, suspended between the trees. Every 

 thing about her was pleasant-looking, betokening care and attention 

 to her comfort, and a degree of refinement I little expected to see. 

 Although unwell, she showed many marks of beauty, and I was much 

 struck with her appearance. 



The king told me these were their private apartments, where they 

 could remain undisturbed and free from intrusion. They passed 

 most of their time together, and he pointed out a small hut of ti- 

 leaves that he liad constructed for her, in which she had been lying 

 on the new-mown grass. The king pointed out the improvements 

 he had in contemplation, but complained that he had not money to 

 carry them on. Although his income is very considerable, in tapas 

 and native produce, and would have constituted great wealth in 

 former times, yet, from the depreciation in the value of these articles, 

 it is now of little value. He has so many hanger.s-on, that it takes a 

 large amount to supply, maintain, and clothe them, even in the 

 ordinary garments of the island. These circumstances leave the 

 king quite as poor as any of his subjects. 



The little domestic scene I had witnessed gave me great pleasure, 

 the more so from being quite unexpected; and I found afterwards 

 that very few are ever admitted to this sanctum sanctorum. I take 



